All roads lead to Firenze ( a post dedicated to our friends Murray & Cathrine)

Unlike our friends Murray and Cathrine we have a road atlas that gives both the English and local names to all the major towns so we were not constantly frustrated by being sent to Firenze when we really wanted to go to Florence.




It was a short drive from Deiva Marina to Florence so we arrived at the campground at about morning tea time. The campground was right beside Piazzale Michelangiolo so we started our day in Florence with this impressive panorama and of course the reproduction of David (the original is now safely housed in a museum).




Then it was a 5 minute walk down the hill to the Ponte Vecchio and past the jewelry shops that line both sides (no Mark didn't buy me any 'souvenirs' from here!)




We did walk past the Uffizi and the long queues waiting to get in - straight to the free exhibits at the end to the piazza!




The art appreciation part of the day done we then had the rest of the afternoon to wander Florence, tourist map in hand like everyone else, to see the rest of the sights. To keep ourselves amused while we did this we gave ourselves three challenges while doing it:-
1) to keep in the shade as much as possible, even if this meant zigging and zagging rather than going the most direct route(because it was incredibly hot).
2) to find the restaurant that did the best value for money Florentine Steak (not just because it is a local speciality but because Mark was craving for a t-bone steak)
3) to find the cheapest bottle of Dom Perignon (yes, after much deliberation we had decided that we couldn't leave Europe without taking this once in a lifetime opportunity to try it and had also discovered that French champagnes are even cheaper in Italy).




With a couple of drink and gelati stops thrown in we made our way from squares and piazzas taking photos and browsing stalls, supermarkets and the many, many restaurant menus.




Yes, we did enjoy our Florentine Steaks (with chips of course!) opting for an air conditioned restaurant rather than the ambience of sitting sweltering in the open air. And we did make quite a scene in the supermarket when the bottle of Dom wouldn't scan and they had to call for a price check!
Gayle

Location:Florence, Italy